The First Yunnan International Forum on Rural Sustainable Early Childhood Education, hosted by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education and the World Bank, was held from January 11 to 12 in Chenggong, Yunnan Province of China. Nearly 200 participants, such as officials from the Ministry of Education, educational experts from more than 10 countries including those from Laos, Indonesia and Australia were present.Well-known scholars and representatives of domestic and international organizations gathered in Yunnan Normal University, Chenggong Campus and discussed  about the development of rural preschool education. . Mr. Michael Herman, Country Representative of Humana People to People China, participated in the event, and shared HPP’s “Preschools of the Future” program & its operations in Yunnan rural communities with fellow experts. 


HPP China Country Representative Michael Herman Shared HPP “Preschools of the Future”
Program and Concept with felw experts in the Forum.

The Forum, which lasted for two days, was organized by Yunnan Normal University and was focused on how to improve the coverage and quality of preschool education in rural areas, under the theme  "caring for rural areas, promoting fairness, academic piloting, demonstration,  innovation, and sharing experience". Participants also discussed ways to optimize the use of assessment tools and shared academic experiences . The whole Forum was divided into five units with a total of 21 thematic speeches, such as “ From Practice to Policy at National Level"; "Rural Early Childhood Education Sustainable Development from Province to village "; "Scientific Monitoring and Evaluation of Preschool Education Quality"; "Preschool Education Curriculum"; "Exploring of Rural Early Childhood Education Service Model ". More than 20 experts such as Zhou Nianli(an Early Childhood Education expert from East China Normal University), Zhang Bingzi(a well-known expert on Early Childhood Education in China), and HPP China Country Representative Michael Hermann made speeches on different topics, and analyzed international and domestic situations, especially the development of preschool education in Yunnan Province.  The speeches pointed out the common problems of current preschool education, and proposed  new ideas, new concepts, and new methods for Early Childhood Education development.  The delegates  were very enthusiastic and made lots of interactions in the forum.